Risk factors affecting the feeding site predilection of ticks on cattle in Ghana

• Published in: Experimental & applied acarology Vol. 92; no. 4; pp. 835 - 850
• Main Authors: Addo, Seth Offei, Bentil, Ronald Essah, Mosore, Mba-tihssommah, Behene, Eric, Adinkrah, Julian, Tagoe, Janice, Yeboah, Clara, Baako, Bernice Olivia Ama, Atibila, Dorcas, Kwarteng, Sandra Abankwa, Poku-Asante, Kwaku, Owusu-Darbo, Ellis, Asoala, Victor, Mingle, Daniel Lartei, Nyarko, Edward Owusu, Fox, Anne T., Letizia, Andrew G., William, Joseph Diclaro, Nimo-Paintsil, Shirley, Harwood, James F., Dadzie, Samuel Kweku
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01-05-2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Acaricides; Animal diseases; Animal Ecology; Animal Genetics and Genomics; Animal health; Animal Systematics/Taxonomy/Biogeography; Animals; Arachnids; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Body parts; Cattle; Cattle Diseases - epidemiology; Cattle Diseases - parasitology; Chest; Economic impact; Entomology; Feeding Behavior; Female; Ghana; Ixodidae - growth & development; Ixodidae - physiology; Life Sciences; Male; Risk Factors; Scrotum; Thigh; Tick Infestations - epidemiology; Tick Infestations - parasitology; Tick Infestations - veterinary; Ticks; Tropical environments; Udder; Vectors; Ghana; Ecological zones; Ghana; Cattle; Ixodid ticks; Predilection sites
• ISSN: 0168-8162; 1572-9702
• DOI: 10.1007/s10493-024-00906-7

Ticks are important disease vectors affecting animal health and causing substantial economic loss, especially in the tropics and subtropics. To examine the tick burden of cattle and associated risk factors for tick infestation, ticks were collected from 388 cattle within five regions in Ghana. Most of the cattle were males (50.3%) and generally older than 3 years (65%). Of the animals sampled, 2187 ticks were collected with a mean tick burden of 5.6 ticks per cattle, and the average tick burden on the udder/scrotum being significantly higher than in the anal region (Generalized Linear Mix Model [GLMM],
p
 = 0.01197). The tick species identified were predominantly
Amblyomma variegatum
(42.6%) and
Hyalomma rufipes
(26.2%). High proportions of cattle examined were found to have
A. variegatum
infesting the udder/scrotum. Furthermore,
H. rufipes
infested mostly the anal region compared to other examined body parts (OR 14.8, 95% CI 8.6–25.4,
p
 < 0.001). Using the GLMM, tick abundance was found to be significantly higher in cattle older than 3 years. The tick burden in the udder/scrotum was higher than that from the chest and leg/thigh of the cattle (GLMM,
p
 < 0.05). The tick burden at the anal region was also significantly higher than the leg/thigh and chest. This study indicates that the preferred attachment sites of ticks on cattle are species-dependent and effective treatment with acaricides should take into consideration the udder/scrotum and anal regions as well as prioritizing older cattle.